Pentecost 12 B
August 16, 2015
Ephesians 5:15-20
I
am a musician. Long before I was meant to be a pastor, I was meant to be a
musician – that’s what I thought, anyway. You can read all about it in my
childhood journals, where I talk about going to Julliard. No surprise, of
course; I come from a very musical
family. My earliest memories include waking up to Bach Brandenburg Concertos,
hearing my mom singing at the piano, my dad playing, singing table grace in
multiple parts whenever we visited my grandparents. My Lutheran upbringing
supported this value; Luther was a musician and composer himself, and held
deeply the conviction that music was an essential way to praise God. That is
why today so much of our liturgy is sung, why we sing so many hymns, and why
Lutheran colleges around the country are often known for their strong music
programs.
It’s
no surprise then that I was drawn this week to this wonderful line from our
reading from Ephesians: “be filled with the Spirit, as you sing psalms and
hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the
Lord in your hearts, giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for
everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” It makes me think of Maria
von Trapp in the epic opening of The
Sound of Music, where she simply can’t help running out to the hills to sing
and be thankful. There’s a reason this is my all-time favorite movie: that
response makes sense to me and my Lutheran sensibilities! Song is a perfect
avenue
But
this passage is about more than specifically music, or singing. The heart of
this short passage is this line: “be filled with the Spirit.” We Lutherans
claim that all who are baptized are filled with the Spirit. At the moment of
baptism, we pray that God’s Spirit be poured upon us, then proclaim that we
have been sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked by the cross of Christ. So our
response, then, as baptized believers, is to live a life that reflects being
filled with the Spirit. The question becomes: what does this look or sound like?
It
may very well sound like a song, and the writer of Ephesians does point to that:
he writes that we live in the Spirit by singing psalms, hymns and spiritual
songs. But I’m glad he starts with psalms, because the book of Psalms give us a
large variety to choose from. Songs aren’t always happy, after all, and neither
are we, and the Psalter (book of Psalms) is a testament to that. Luther called
the Psalter a Bible within the Bible, the one book that gives us everything we
need to pray to God. Here, God has given us the words we need for any situation
– words of praise, yes, but also words of lament, words of frustration, words
of love, of longing, of thanksgiving… Sometimes being filled with the Spirit
doesn’t look like joy and praise, but rather, like living in the midst of
whatever life is offering right now. It is being present in whatever your
situation is, but knowing that the Spirit is right there with you. After all,
Jesus was filled with the Spirit when he cried out from the cross, “My God, my
God, why have you forsaken me?” – a quote from Psalm 22. So we see that, whatever
your particular state, psalms
Hymns
and spiritual songs also have a lot to offer. The library of hymns from which
Lutherans have drawn over the centuries is large and varied. Our hymns are
joyful, and they are solemn. They are hymns of praise, and of lament. They are
prayerful, and they are expressive. And whether or not you consider yourself a
singer, the lyrics alone can be very meaningful. Take our opening hymn this
morning, read more as a prayer: “Father, providing food for your children: by
Wisdom’s guiding teach us to share one with another, so that, rejoicing with
us, all others may know your care. Then will your blessing reach every people,
freely confessing your gracious hand.” It sounds very much like an offertory
prayer, no? Even spoken, the words of our hymns sing a song to God.
But
psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs – even these are not the only kinds of songs
we sing, and certainly not the only way to be filled with the Spirit. Spirit-filled
songs in different styles and forms are popping up all over Bethlehem and St.
Martin. I hear the song of hospitality when I see you eagerly welcome visitors
and engage in conversation. I hear the song of generosity when I see enthusiasm
around ministries and giving throughout the year – whether of your time, your
talents, or your treasures. I hear the song of meditation on God’s Word when I
see people gather for prayer here at Bethlehem on Wednesdays, or Sundays at St.
Martin for Bible study. I hear the song of compassion when I see people sending
out cards, preparing meals, or going to visit people in the congregation. I
hear the song of mission when I see two churches who, filled with the Spirit,
took a step out in faith five years ago to see if they could do joint ministry
together… and it’s working! You see, we express our Spirit-filled-ness and the
songs in our hearts in countless ways, not just with music notes on a page. We
sing God’s praises in every action we do, thanking God with every step and
every chord in the name of Jesus Christ.
And
this leads us to the next bit in the Ephesians text, about when we sing our particular, Spirit-filled song. The answer in
Ephesians is quite simple: “sing and make melody to the Lord in your hearts,”
it says, “giving thanks to God the Father at
all times.” Always! There is no right
My
grandfather (the one at whose house we always sang our table grace) was a big
inspiration to me, and played a large role in my deciding to go to seminary. Unfortunately
he died suddenly my first year in seminary – but even his funeral had a lot to
teach me about giving thanks and singing my song at all times. Mere weeks
before his death, he had given my dad his funeral plans. Among the hymns he had
chosen to be sung at his funeral was Now
Thank We All Our God. What a powerful experience to stand with my mourning
family, sad and shocked, and sing this strong hymn, “Now thank we all our God
With hearts and hands and voices, Who wondrous things has done, In whom this
world rejoices; Who, from our mothers’ arms, Has blest us on our way With countless
gifts of love, And still is ours today.” At first, I thought in dismay, “What a
time to sing such a song, Grandpa!” But then I thought, “What better time to
sing such a song, Grandpa!” Now thank we all our God, NOW, even as we mourn,
NOW, even as we cry. Now, as we celebrate that following death comes
resurrection, which God also promised to us in our baptism. Now and always,
thank we all our God, who wondrous things has done! After we had recessed out
of the service and seen my grandpa’s casket into the waiting hearse, the family
stood in the narthex as people left the sanctuary and sang in 3-part
counterpoint, “I want to praise the Lord! His praise is always on my lips!” And
it could not have felt more appropriate.
What
is the song God has given you to sing, and when and how do you sing it? In what
way do you share your Spirit-filled-ness with the world? Whatever way and
whatever song it is, sisters and brothers, be filled with the Spirit, singing
and making melody to the Lord in your hearts, giving thanks to God the Father
at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Let
us pray… God, you are worthy of praise,
and you have given each of us a particular song to sing. Grant us the courage
and the ability to sing that song, to praise you in our thoughts, words, and deeds;
in short, to be filled with the Spirit at all times and in all that we do. In
the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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